No coach, no team, no money.....

Gary and Buddy

Gary grew up in rural Nebraska. His father taught him how to hunt and how to handle a rifle safely. This is where and how Gary was first exposed to rifles.

Gary's dad, Roy, had a subscription to The American Rifleman Magazine (circa 1950's--the height of the Cold War) with a few articles about the Russians who dominated the 1954 World Championships and 1956 Olympic Games.   Gary was inspired by an article written by Anatoli Bogdanov, the greatest rifle shooter in the world in the 1950's.   The article talked about the importance of dry firing, so Gary improvised and went to work.   This is where and how Gary's belly began to burn with the dream of becoming an Olympic Champion in target shooting.

A little boy on a big tractor!

Throwing bales on the farm

C. 1957 - The Nebraska farm boy learns to shoot

 Gary was 14 years old when he decided he was going to do something with the Anderson name. About the time he was a senior in high school (age 17) he started training. Without benefit of proper equipment, gear, a coach, a range, a manual, a team (or the Internet) Gary taught himself how to shoot, using an old H&R model 65. There wasn't enough money for ammunition so Gary dry fired -- meaning going through all the motions of firing a shot, but without bullets. Once a week Roy would give him enough money to buy one box of bullets to practice "live fire." At age 25 his name was called to the Gold Medal Podium for winning the 300meter Rifle competition at the Tokyo Olympics (1964).   But that was merely the beginning of his Olympic and World Championship career.     And there are many stories of the journey to Tokyo.